Category: Ketogenic Diet

Those of you who have been following my blog for a while, know that I love to experiment with my diet and workouts. In fact, I actually consider myself to be an ongoing experiment in health.

The Ketogenic Diet Experiment

In my latest experiment, I tackled the ketogenic diet, a very low carb (less than 50 grams/day), moderate protein, and high fat diet. The most common ratios for obtaining and maintaining nutritional ketosis is to consume your daily caloric needs with 5% carbs, 20% proteins, and 75% fats. For me, that included 21 grams net carbs (net carbs are total carb grams minus fiber grams), 85 grams protein, and 162 grams fat, with a total daily calorie count of about 1700.

Now, I think it’s only fair to give you a little background on my interest in the ketogenic diet. The first time I heard of it, was at PaleoFX. last year. Fact is, Dr. Sarah Ballantyne, gave a speech on the positive negative effects of the ketogenic diet, especially on women. I was actually talking with her about her speech, at dinner the night before. After listening intently to her speech, which included much compelling evidence to some of the dangers to women’s health, I pretty much determined it was something I would never try.

Flash forward almost one whole year later. By this time, I have put my lupus into remission, with help from the AIP diet, as outlined in The Paleo Approach, and a workout program, created by myself. I had also been experimenting with different macro ratios, in order to keep my fitness level progressing. In my research, I came across the ketogenic diet once again. This time, I reached out to the masters in ketogenic, low carb, and high fat diets. Hearing what they had to say, and reading up on their research, I decided to put aside my earlier fears, and give it a go. The ketogenic diet experiment began.

Tools of the ketogenic diet

The first thing I had to do was get together all the items I would need to begin: keto urine strips, a blood ketone/glucose monitor and strips, a macro counting app (I like MyMacros+), a food scale, and lots of fats.

After calculating my proper macros (above), and beginning to follow the recommended ratio, it took me only four days to start producing trace amounts of ketones. I had tons of energy and mental clarity. Within a week, I had lost 2 pounds of fat. I continued to feel this way and lose weight for eight weeks. Then, I hit a brick wall.

Leaning out on the ketogenic diet

One of the reasons I began the ketogenic diet was to help with some hormonal and skin issues that were lingering. My first period, while on the ketogenic diet, was completely pain-free. This was something I hadn’t experienced in years. And, I didn’t suffer from the horrible PMS symptoms I usually did. Unfortunately, it didn’t repeat with my second period. I also experienced some relief in my skin rashes, in the beginning six weeks. But then, those came back, even worse than before. All of the energy and mental clarity I had experienced disappeared.

To be completely honest though, I don’t blame the ketogenic diet. I know, after years of experiments and research, it’s just what my body does when I’ve been on any regimen for eight weeks. It’s actually the same way for many of you. Once your body gets used to a particular diet or workout program, it simply stops working at it’s ultimate level. That’s not the time to give up. It’s the time to shake things up a bit.

It was important to the experiment for me to remove some of the variables, to be sure they weren’t affecting my results. I stopped exercising for four days, and followed that with a week of decreased workouts. I also cut out or decreased some of the foods I had reintroduced, such as nightshades and dairy. These changes actually made my symptoms worse, not better. Trust me, I was happy it wasn’t all the cheese I had been eating. So, it was back to the drawing board.

Batch cooking on the ketogenic diet

What now? The next phase of my experiment has begun. As of this past Sunday, I have increased my carbs to 50 grams a day. I have also increased my protein to 110 grams, and my fats to 174 grams, while I focus on building muscle again. This works out to daily caloric intake of 9% carbs, 20% proteins, and 71% fats. It’s still well within the ketogenic diet range. As of yesterday, I am still producing ketones, even with the new ratios. I will also be doing a carb cycling day each week. On those days, I will increase my carbs to about 100 grams, and lower my fats to about 50 grams. If you increase your fats and carbs by large amounts, at the same time, you will gain fat. One day a week of doing that might not hurt you; but, over time, it will catch up with you.

My workouts will also be changing. I’ll be doing five days of weightlifting split workouts, two days of 20 minute HIIT running sprint workouts, and three days of 30 to 40 minutes dance practice. That may seem like a rigorous schedule; but, I’ve seen that I don’t do well with less exercise. For me, a strenuous workout program keeps my immune system suppressed, which keeps my symptoms to a minimum. However, I do take a week off from weightlifting and HIIT workouts every eight to twelve weeks. That ensures my body can fully recover.

I’ll definitely keep y’all informed as I move through this new phase of the ketogenic diet. Even though we are all different in what works for us, and what doesn’t, that doesn’t mean that we can’t learn something from others’ experiences. I really hate when those trying to hawk their books or whatnot, try to tell you not to try other ways of healing. It’s one thing to make you aware of some of the dangers. It’s quite another to say your way is the only way. You should always experiment with different protocols. Some may help to heal certain symptoms, while others get rid of lingering ones. Finding the combination that works for you is the hard part.

Some great ketogenic diet reading:

Keto Tools:

As always, I wish you good health…..and, good food!

*This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase from one of these links, I may receive compensation. Thank you for helping me to keep Paleo Cajun Lady blog running.- Tara Perillo

Welcome all. I am Tara Perillo, herbalist, homeopath, yoga and fitness instructor, and healthy foodie . After successfully reaching remission of my lupus symptoms, through changes in my diet, exercise, and lifestyle, I wrote the ebook, Sickness To Fitness Quick Start Guide. I am also honored to have my paleo and AIP recipes featured in Paleo Magazine, Paleo Living Magazine, Shape Magazine Online, 85 Amazing AIP Breakfasts, The Paleo AIP Instant Pot Cookbook, and blogs by The Paleo Mom, Kris Kresser, Whole New Mom and many others. My focus is to help others become stronger in every facet of their lives. Join me to become stronger in health, mind, body, and spirit, together!

Looking for a quick, tasty dish to add to your batch cooking session? This Low Carb Ground Beef Cabbage Jalapeño Skillet is perfect for batch cooking, or just whipping up a quick, healthy meal.

Low Carb Ground Beef Cabbage Jalapeño Skillet

Can’t tolerate dairy? No problem. Just follow the special ingredient switch note to make this dairy-free and paleo. Want it AIP? Follow the substitution note and omit the jalapeños. It will still taste fantastic!

Welcome all. I am Tara Perillo, herbalist, homeopath, yoga and fitness instructor, and healthy foodie . After successfully reaching remission of my lupus symptoms, through changes in my diet, exercise, and lifestyle, I wrote the ebook, Sickness To Fitness Quick Start Guide. I am also honored to have my paleo and AIP recipes featured in Paleo Magazine, Paleo Living Magazine, Shape Magazine Online, 85 Amazing AIP Breakfasts, The Paleo AIP Instant Pot Cookbook, and blogs by The Paleo Mom, Kris Kresser, Whole New Mom and many others. My focus is to help others become stronger in every facet of their lives. Join me to become stronger in health, mind, body, and spirit, together!

It’s been a couple of weeks since I’ve posted, here on my blog. I have a few good reasons for this: 1) I’ve felt uninspired to create AIP recipes; 2) I’ve been transitioning to a more primal, ketogenic diet; and, 3) I’ve been working on several new projects. Truth is, ever since I put my lupus into remission, I’ve felt the need to expand, both my diet and my lifestyle choices. Little by little, I’ve been transitioning back into the person I was before I got sick. I really had no idea how much of my luster I had lost. My inquisitive nature has completely returned. I’m me again, only healthier and wiser!

Just so you understand, this new-old me is not abandoning you (those following me for AIP info). Simply because I’ve reached the end of my AIP journey, doesn’t mean that I can’t help you through yours. In fact, the fact that I’ve been so successful with it, makes me a great choice to go to for advice. So, you may notice some new not-so-AIP recipes and posts on my blog. As I continue on my journey of life, I will explore different diets and lifestyle changes. Although I may find new and different protocols that help with my current goals, I will always have a special place in my heart for the AIP. After all, it is the protocol that gave me myself back.

Now, let’s talk about what I’m up to! After reading Keto Clarity by Jimmy Moore, and doing a ton of research, I’ve decided to start the ketogenic diet. For those of you who don’t know what that is, it’s a very low carb, moderate protein, and high fat eating protocol. It has shown to be effective in treating epilepsy, diabetes, PCOS, MS and many other ailments. Basically, it forces your body to be fueled by ketones, rather than glucose. Plus, it burns fat like crazy, which makes it very popular with athletes. The main reason I’ve started the ketogenic protocol is to deal with some lingering issues. Although the AIP healed my gut and put my lupus into remission, I didn’t have much relief from my hormonal and endometriosis issues. Plus, I’m an older woman, trying to get into prime fitness competition shape. After reading about others’ success treating these problems, with the ketogenic diet, I chose to give it a try.

In order to get all the fat grams I need to eat to stay in a state of nutritional ketosis, I have added some organic dairy products into my diet. I have found that as long as I eat low-to-no casein dairy, I tolerate them very well. I also try to stick with raw and/or sheep or goat milk products as much as possible. Since adding dairy back into my life, I have been able to experiment with different recipes. This Primal Spinach Artichoke Dip recipe is one I’ve used for 16 years! I’ve missed it so much over the last couple of years. It’s so nice to have it back in my life. And now, I want to share it with you.

I’ll follow up with another post on the ketogenic diet next week. In the mean time, feel free to ask me any questions you may have. I’m looking forward to sharing this new part of my journey with you.

As always, I wish you good health……..and, good food!

*This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through one of these links, I may receive compensation. Thank you for helping to support my blogging efforts, here at Paleo Cajun Lady.- Tara Perillo

Welcome all. I am Tara Perillo, herbalist, homeopath, yoga and fitness instructor, and healthy foodie . After successfully reaching remission of my lupus symptoms, through changes in my diet, exercise, and lifestyle, I wrote the ebook, Sickness To Fitness Quick Start Guide. I am also honored to have my paleo and AIP recipes featured in Paleo Magazine, Paleo Living Magazine, Shape Magazine Online, 85 Amazing AIP Breakfasts, The Paleo AIP Instant Pot Cookbook, and blogs by The Paleo Mom, Kris Kresser, Whole New Mom and many others. My focus is to help others become stronger in every facet of their lives. Join me to become stronger in health, mind, body, and spirit, together!

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Medical Disclaimer:

Disclaimer: Although I am a certified herbalist and homeopath, I have chosen not to obtain my licensure in these modalities (where they may apply). I am not a licensed dietician, medical doctor, or practitioner of traditional medicine. I am not licensed to counsel in medical matters, nor do I attempt to treat disease in any way. I may not be held responsible for any course of action you choose to apply to heal yourself or your family members. Please understand that I am sharing the results of my studies and my own personal journey to wellness. Not everything I write about will be the right course of action for you. From time to time, I will write articles debunking traditional or alternative medical studies, challenging traditional or alternative medical establishment, and promoting government regulation of alternative and pharmaceutical remedies. These articles reflect my opinion and research regarding these matters. I encourage you to do your own research and seek the advice of medical doctors (actual MDs) you trust. I seriously advise you to seek a medical doctor for diagnosis and treatment of all disease.

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In order to support my blogging efforts, I may receive monetary compensation or other types of compensation for my endorsement, recommendations, testimonials and/or link to any products or services from this blog. I only endorse products that align with Tara Perillo Wellness, and I really believe would be of value to my readers.